Taken from Rio Bravo

TAKEN FROM RIO BRAVO is an indie western that turns out to be a sequel to ASSAULT ON RIO BRAVO, which I haven't seen, and features a couple of returning characters. I don't feel like I missed much there. This is pretty lamentable stuff, just about passable as a B-grade kind of outing, involving an outlaw gang who kidnap a number of women and the heroes who team up to get them back again. As with most low budget films in this genre, the landscape impresses but the performances don't, particularly the wooden Nevsky. Don 'The Dragon' Wilson has a small role as an Indian tracker and Cynthia Rothrock has an even smaller role, so tiny that I actually missed it.

Now, the synopsis for the movie actually sounded interesting enough to make me decide to sit down and watch the movie. Usually I am not particularly keen on Western movies, but do watch one every now and again. However, I have to say that I had some expectations to the movie from what the synopsis presented. However, writers Craig Hamann and Alexander Nevsky dropped the ball here, because the movie proved to be a massive swing and a miss. Granted, I have not watched the 2023 Western "Gunfight at Rio Bravo", so I don't know how much of this 2024 sequel was lost on me as I didn't know what transpired in the first movie. Of the entire cast ensemble in the movie, I was only familiar with Don Wilson, Matthias Hues and Cynthia Rothrock. The acting performances in the movie were for the most parts fair enough, but then there was Alexander Nevsky. Right, well Cynthia Rothrock as a woman in 1874 performing martial arts didn't exactly come off as being a particularly realistic or plausible thing. It was just such a poorly mixture of martial arts and Western, and it didn't work. And having Don Wilson, whom is part Japanese, play a native American, well... Director Joe Cornet didn't deliver an impressive Western experience, and this was a movie that will just as quietly fade into oblivion as it quietly managed to sneak in under the radar. Not even if you are a diehard Western fan then I wouldn't recommend you to sit down and watch "Taken From Rio Bravo". My rating of this 2024 farce of a Western movie lands on a very, very generous two out of ten stars.

This western has all the ingredients to be a classic but somehow it manages to fall woefully short. The music and opening credits hark back to the golden age of westerns. The scenery and landscapes give it a great atmospheric feel. The characters are interesting enough. It's easy to distinguish between the good and the bad guys. The costumes appear historically accurate (I can't vouch for the weapons) and there are throw-backs to the Civil War - I can quite believe some participants were still wearing their uniforms 7 or 8 years after the war. There's even an Indian, a few Mexicans and some Comancheros thrown in for good measure. The plot of white slaves being traded into Mexico from the Southern States is not one I'd seen explored before and was an interesting twist to the routine 'revenge' story. The female characters were pleasing to the eye without detracting from the story. To be fair, I think they got away with it pretty tamely! There is also a bit of humour too with the town doc being made sheriff - this could have been explored more The action and fight scenes come fast enough but unfortunately they are over-the-top and our 'hero' is too much of a 'super hero' taking on numerous bandits all at once. The villains themselves are just not bad enough. The main villain wouldn't have looked out of place in a 'Carry On' film! I'm not familiar with Alexander Nevski but he's big, I mean BIG! I felt sorry for his horse! To my mind he was just too big to be realistic Towards the end the continuity goes awry as if they're trying to wrap everything up in a rush - perhaps they were running out of money? I was glad I stuck with it until the end to find out that the main protagonist is based on a real character - a Russian that fought for the Union during the ACW. I need to find out more about him. If you're looking for a classic western this is not it - although it could have been.

I started to read the other reviews and thought at first that they were written togue in cheek , not believing they would be serious. The acting, the script, the tired storyline, the cliches....where to start. The only positve was the landscape. The two main characters aren't too bad but this can't be said for the villain of the piece. The scene when they finally catch up with the gang is questionable, the hero not missing a shot until suddenly at this moment his aim is off? The acting sadly doesn't improve and although I'd normally switch off but it being such a short movie helped me get through to the end. Not the worst western I've seen but one I won't be recommending.

source: Gunfight at Rio Bravo 2

It would be mean to spoiler and deprive you of the watching joy, thus i limited my reviews to points which became better: 1. The plot - elaborated and consistent - great work. 2. Landscapes filming - just magnificent panoramas. 3. Shooting scenes - inheriting the best of westerns 4. Operator work (i rate some sequences better than in John Wick) 5. More first-class actors and new faces 6. Sudden comeback of some previous characters 7. English of the starring Alex Nevsky One star less since the movie has too much flashbacks to the Gunfight at Rio Bravo. The fan base knows the original by heart. And if you don't know it, just watch first.

Once again - it's too damn short! I know it's zero budget and etc, but I was spoiled by classic masterful B-movies and sydicated long running TV shows. Pros: Some scenes are beautiful (riding through landscapes, knife fight and shootoot with mexicans), The continuation of story and lore (I like when characters remember what they said earlier), Cynthia and Don had nice little roles, It's kind of campy (sometimes, it's a plus for me), I can't deny that Joe Cornet gets better with directing and acting. Cons: /Place your Ad here/ Have I told you it was too short? In my perfect world of dreams these characters (Ivan Turchin and Co.) have a TV show of 3 seasons 22 episodes each. I give it 10 out of 10 because Alexander Nevsky is controversial figure and amount of professional haters is pretty large. For me Alexander is a man who tought me through his books to avoid any steroids in sports. Looking forward for more sequels.

Alexander's performance is the best thing that has ever happened to world cinema. A rating of 10 is too low to rate this masterpiece!!!!!!!!!!! I ask the site administration to give this Western classic 1000 points. And even this will not be enough!!!! Nevsky I love you!!!! When I watched the first part, I thought that a better movie couldn't be made. But Mr. Olympia, as always, was able to surprise me. The living incarnation of the son of Zeus whose name is Hercules as always I was able to outdo myself. There were 2 injustices in the world of cinema: 1 - when DiCaprio was not given an Oscar. 2 It's even worse when the whole world does not understand Nevsky's genius. I am confident that in 2024 this film will win Oscars in all categories. Alexander Nevsky in his greatness already surpassed Alexander of Mackendon. He burst into Hollywood like a storm and conquered it with his impeccable acting, which was repeatedly confirmed by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, whose son he so wanted.

This film is capable of conquering the heavens themselves. Alexander Nevsky once again shocked his fans with his brilliant vision of cinema. From the script to the direction, everything in this film is great. It is impossible to express in words the depth of my admiration. Man could not create this masterpiece. Only you, Alexander, the true incarnation of Apollo on earth, could have done this! Watching your movie, I cried with happiness. My family wept with me, amazed at your unsurpassed genius. You've turned my perception of cinema upside down. Your representation of the Wild West was so historically accurate that I'm afraid you got access to Nikita Mikhalkov's secret documents. You have proved to the haters once and for all the insignificance of their claims. Bravo, Mr. Nevsky, Hollywood is at your feet. Your place is not among people, but on Olympus!